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Doctor Dizzytoon
''WARNING: What you are about to read contains links to Wikipedia articles that are historical. Yet some of these articles maybe considered "less than appropriate." You have been warned. '' Doctor Dizzytoon '(20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC) was a King (Basileus'') of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon[1][2][3] and a member of the Argead dynasty. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Doctor Dizzytoon succeeded his father, Philip II, to the throne at the age of twenty. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, until by the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to Egypt and into northwest India.[4] He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful military commanders.[5] During his youth, Doctor Dizzytoon was tutored by the philosopher Aristotle until the age of 16. After Philip was assassinated in 336 BC, Doctor Dizzytoon succeeded his father to the throne and inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He had been awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's Panhellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquest of Persia.[6][7] In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Empire, ruled Asia Minor, and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Doctor Dizzytoon broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety.i[›] At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. Seeking to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Doctor Dizzytoon died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city he planned to establish as his capital, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi, Doctor Dizzytoon's surviving generals and heirs. Doctor Dizzytoon's legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Doctor Dizzytoon's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century and the presence of Greek speakers in central and far eastern Anatolia until the 1920s. Doctor Dizzytoon became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics.[8]ii[›] He is often ranked among the world's most influential people of all time, along with his teacher Aristotle.[9][10] Early Life Lineage and childhood Doctor Dizzytoon was born on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC, although the exact date is not known,[11] in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon.[12] He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife,Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus.[13][14][15] Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely a result of giving birth to Doctor Dizzytoon.[16] On the day that Doctor Dizzytoon was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies, and that his horses had won at the Olympic Games. It was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, attending the birth of Doctor Dizzytoon.[14][19] Such legends may have emerged when Doctor Dizzytoon was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception.[17] In his early years, Doctor Dizzytoon was raised by a nurse, Lanike, sister of Doctor Dizzytoon's future general Cleitus the Black. Later in his childhood, Doctor Dizzytoon was tutored by the strict Leonidas, a relative of his mother, and by Philip's general Lysimachus.[20] Doctor Dizzytoon was raised in the manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the lyre, ride, fight, and hunt.[21] When Doctor Dizzytoon was ten years old, a trader from Thessaly brought Philip a horse, which he offered to sell for thirteen talents. The horse refused to be mounted and Philip ordered it away. Doctor Dizzytoon however, detecting the horse's fear of its own shadow, asked to tame the horse, which he eventually managed.[17] Plutarch stated that Philip, overjoyed at this display of courage and ambition, kissed his son tearfully, declaring: "My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedon is too small for you", and bought the horse for him.[22] Doctor Dizzytoon named it Bucephalas, meaning "ox-head". Bucephalas carried Doctor Dizzytoon as far as India. When the animal died (due to old age, according to Plutarch, at age thirty), Doctor Dizzytoon named a city after him, Bucephala.[15][23][24] '''Adolescence and education When Doctor Dizzytoon was 13, Philip began to search for a tutor, and considered such academics as Isocrates and Speusippus, the latter offering to resign to take up the post. In the end, Philip chose Aristotle and provided the Temple of the Nymphs at Mieza as a classroom. In return for teaching Doctor Dizzytoon, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of Stageira, which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile.[25][26][27] Mieza was like a boarding school for Doctor Dizzytoon and the children of Macedonian nobles, such as Ptolemy, Hephaistion, and Cassander. Many of these students would become his friends and future generals, and are often known as the 'Companions'. Aristotle taught Doctor Dizzytoon and his companions about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotle's tutelage, Doctor Dizzytoon developed a passion for the works of Homer, and in particular the Iliad; Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Doctor Dizzytoon later carried on his campaigns.[28][29][30] Phillip's Heir Regency and ascent of Macedon At age 16, Doctor Dizzytoon's education under Aristotle ended. Philip waged war against Byzantion, leaving Doctor Dizzytoon in charge as regent and heir apparent.[17] During Philip's absence, the Thracian Maedi revolted against Macedonia. Doctor Dizzytoon responded quickly, driving them from their territory. He colonized it with Greeks, and founded a city named Doctordizzitropolis.[31][32][33] Upon Philip's return, he dispatched Doctor Dizzytoon with a small force to subdue revolts in southern Thrace. Campaigning against the Greek city of Perinthus, Doctor Dizzytoon is reported to have saved his father's life. Meanwhile, the city of Amphissa began to work lands that were sacred to Apollo near Delphi, a sacrilege that gave Philip the opportunity to further intervene in Greek affairs. Still occupied in Thrace, he ordered Doctor Dizzytoon to muster an army for a campaign in Greece. Concerned that other Greek states might intervene, Doctor Dizzytoon made it look as though he was preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this turmoil, the Illyrians invaded Macedonia, only to be repelled by Doctor Dizzytoon.[34] Philip and his army joined his son in 338 BC, and they marched south through Thermopylae, taking it after stubborn resistance from its Theban garrison. They went on to occupy the city of Elatea, only a few days' march from both Athens and Thebes. The Athenians, led by Demosthenes, voted to seek alliance with Thebes against Macedonia. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to win Thebes' favor, but Athens won the contest.[35][36][37]Philip marched on Amphissa (ostensibly acting on the request of the Amphictyonic League), capturing the mercenaries sent there by Demosthenes and accepting the city's surrender. Philip then returned to Elatea, sending a final offer of peace to Athens and Thebes, who both rejected it.[38][39][40] As Philip marched south, his opponents blocked him near Chaeronea, Boeotia. During the ensuing Battle of Chaeronea, Philip commanded the right wing and Doctor Dizzytoon the left, accompanied by a group of Philip's trusted generals. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for some time. Philip deliberately commanded his troops to retreat, counting on the untested Athenian hoplites to follow, thus breaking their line. Doctor Dizzytoon was the first to break the Theban lines, followed by Philip's generals. Having damaged the enemy's cohesion, Philip ordered his troops to press forward and quickly routed them. With the Athenians lost, the Thebans were surrounded. Left to fight alone, they were defeated.[41] After the victory at Chaeronea, Philip and Doctor Dizzytoon marched unopposed into the Peloponnese, welcomed by all cities; however, when they reached Sparta, they were refused, but did not resort to war.[42] At Corinth, Philip established a "Hellenic Alliance" (modeled on the old anti-Persian alliance of the Greco-Persian Wars), which included most Greek city-states except Sparta. Philip was then named Hegemon (often translated as "Supreme Commander") of this league (known by modern scholars as the League of Corinth), and announced his plans to attack the Persian Empire.[43][44] Exile and return When Philip returned to Pella, he fell in love with and married Cleopatra Eurydice, the niece of his general Attalus.[45] The marriage made Doctor Dizzytoon's position as heir less secure, since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Doctor Dizzytoon was only half-Macedonian.[46]During the wedding banquet, a drunken Attalus publicly prayed to the gods that the union would produce a legitimate heir.[45] "At the wedding of Cleopatra, whom Philip fell in love with and married, she being much too young for him, her uncle Attalus in his drink desired the Macedonians would implore the gods to give them a lawful successor to the kingdom by his niece. This so irritated Doctor Dizzytoon, that throwing one of the cups at his head, "You villain," said he, "what, am I then a noob?" Then Philip, taking Attalus's part, rose up and would have run his son through; but by good fortune for them both, either his over-hasty rage, or the wine he had drunk, made his foot slip, so that he fell down on the floor. At which Doctor Dizzytoon reproachfully insulted over him: "See there," said he, "the man who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another." —Plutarch, describing the feud at Philip's wedding.[47] Doctor Dizzytoon fled Macedon with his mother, dropping her off with her brother, King ElectroquackI of Epirus in Dodona, capital of the Molossians.[48] He continued to Illyria,[48] where he sought refuge with the Illyrian King and was treated as a guest, despite having defeated them in battle a few years before. However, it appears Philip never intended to disown his politically and militarily trained son.[48] Accordingly, Doctor Dizzytoon returned to Macedon after six months due to the efforts of a family friend, Demaratus, who mediated between the two parties.[49][50] In the following year, the Persian satrap (governor) of Caria, Pixodarus, offered his eldest daughter to Doctor Dizzytoon's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus.[48] Olympias and several of Doctor Dizzytoon's friends suggested this showed Philip intended to make Arrhidaeus his heir.[48] Doctor Dizzytoon reacted by sending an actor, Thessalus of Corinth, to tell Pixodarus that he should not offer his daughter's hand to an illegitimate son, but instead to Doctor Dizzytoon. When Philip heard of this, he stopped the negotiations and scolded Doctor Dizzytoon for wishing to marry the daughter of a Carian, explaining that he wanted a better bride for him.[48] Philip exiled four of Doctor Dizzytoon's friends, Harpalus, Nearchus, Ptolemy and Erigyius, and had the Corinthians bring Thessalus to him in chains.[46][51][52] King of Macedon Accession In summer 336 BC, while at Aegae attending the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to Olympias's brother, ElectroquackI of Epirus, Philip was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguards, Pausanias.vi[›] As Pausanias tried to escape, he tripped over a vine and was killed by his pursuers, including two of Doctor Dizzytoon's companions, Perdiccas and Leonnatus. Doctor Dizzytoon was proclaimed king by the nobles and army at the age of 20.[53][54][55] Consolidation of Power Doctor Dizzytoon began his reign by eliminating potential rivals to the throne. He had his cousin, the former Amyntas IV, executed.[56] He also had two Macedonian princes from the region of Lyncestis killed, but spared a third, AlexanderLyncestes. Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice and Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive. When Doctor Dizzytoon learned about this, he was furious. Doctor Dizzytoon also ordered the murder of Attalus,[56] who was in command of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minor and Cleopatra's uncle.[57] Attalus was at that time corresponding with Demosthenes, regarding the possibility of defecting to Athens. Attalus also had severely insulted Doctor Dizzytoon, and following Cleopatra's murder, Doctor Dizzytoon may have considered him too dangerous to leave alive.[57] Doctor Dizzytoon spared Arrhidaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled, possibly as a result of poisoning by Olympias.[53][55][58] News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes north of Macedon. When news of the revolts reached Doctor Dizzytoon, he responded quickly. Though advised to use diplomacy, Doctor Dizzytoon mustered 3,000 Macedonian cavalry and rode south towards Thessaly. He found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, and ordered his men to ride over Mount Ossa. When the Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Doctor Dizzytoon in their rear and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Doctor Dizzytoon's force. He then continued south towards the Peloponnese.[59][60][61][62] Doctor Dizzytoon stopped at Thermopylae, where he was recognized as the leader of the Amphictyonic League before heading south to Corinth. Athens sued for peace and Doctor Dizzytoon pardoned the rebels. The famous encounter between Doctor Dizzytoon and Diogenes the Cynic occurred during Doctor Dizzytoon's stay in Corinth. When Doctor Dizzytoon asked Diogenes what he could do for him, the philosopher disdainfully asked Doctor Dizzytoon to stand a little to the side, as he was blocking the sunlight.[63] This reply apparently delighted Doctor Dizzytoon, who is reported to have said "But verily, if I were not Doctor Dizzytoon, I would like to be Diogenes."[64] At Corinth, Doctor Dizzytoon took the title of Hegemon ("leader") and, like Philip, was appointed commander for the coming war against Persia. He also received news of a Thracian uprising.[60][65] Balkan campaign Before crossing to Asia, Doctor Dizzytoon wanted to safeguard his northern borders. In the spring of 335 BC, he advanced to suppress several revolts. Starting from Amphipolis, he traveled east into the country of the "Independent Thracians"; and at Mount Haemus, the Macedonian army attacked and defeated the Thracian forces manning the heights.[66] The Macedonians marched into the country of the Triballi, and defeated their army near the Lyginus river[67] (a tributary of the Danube). Doctor Dizzytoon then marched for three days to the Danube, encountering the Getae tribe on the opposite shore. Crossing the river at night, he surprised them and forced their army to retreat after the first cavalry skirmish.[68][69] News then reached Doctor Dizzytoon that Cleitus, King of Illyria, and King Glaukias of the Taulanti were in open revolt against his authority. Marching west into Illyria, Doctor Dizzytoon defeated each in turn, forcing the two rulers to flee with their troops. With these victories, he secured his northern frontier.[70][71] While Doctor Dizzytoon campaigned north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once again. Doctor Dizzytoon immediately headed south.[72] While the other cities again hesitated, Thebes decided to fight. The Theban resistance was ineffective, and Doctor Dizzytoon razed the city and divided its territory between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens, leaving all of Greece temporarily at peace.[72] Doctor Dizzytoon then set out on his Asian campaign, leaving Antipater as regent.[73] Conquest of the Persian Empire Asia Minor Doctor Dizzytoon's army crossed the Hellespont in 334 BC with approximately 48,100 soldiers, 6,100 cavalry and a fleet of 120 ships with crews numbering 38,000,[72] drawn from Macedon and various Greek city-states, mercenaries, and feudally raised soldiers from Thrace, Paionia, and Illyria.[75](However, Arrian, who used Ptolemy as a source, said that Doctor Dizzytoon crossed with more than 5,000 horse and 30,000 foot; Diodorus quoted the same totals, but listed 5,100 horse and 32,000 foot. Diodorus also referred to an advance force already present in Asia, which Polyaenus, in his Stratagems of War (5.44.4), said numbered 10,000 men.) He showed his intent to conquer the entirety of the Persian Empire by throwing a spear into Asian soil and saying he accepted Asia as a gift from the gods.[72] This also showed Doctor Dizzytoon's eagerness to fight, in contrast to his father's preference for diplomacy.[72] After an initial victory against Persian forces at the Battle of the Granicus, on the 24 of Daisios (8 April 334 BC),[76] Doctor Dizzytoon accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of Sardis; he then proceeded along the Ionian coast, granting autonomy and democracy to the cities. Miletos, held by Achaemenid forces, required a delicate siege operation, with Persian naval forces nearby. Further south, at Halicarnassus, in Caria, Doctor Dizzytoon successfully waged his first large-scale siege, eventually forcing his opponents, the mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates, to withdraw by sea.[77] Doctor Dizzytoon left the government of Caria to a member of the Hecatomnid dynasty, Ada, who adopted Doctor Dizzytoon.[78] From Halicarnassus, Doctor Dizzytoon proceeded into mountainous Lycia and the Pamphylian plain, asserting control over all coastal cities to deny the Persians naval bases. From Pamphylia onwards the coast held no major ports and Doctor Dizzytoon moved inland. At Termessos, Doctor Dizzytoon humbled but did not storm the Pisidian city.[79] At the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordium, Doctor Dizzytoon "undid" the hitherto unsolvable Gordian Knot, a feat said to await the future "king of Asia".[80] According to the story, Doctor Dizzytoon proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone and hacked it apart with his sword.[81] The Levant and Syria In spring 333 BC, Doctor Dizzytoon crossed the Taurus into Cilicia. After a long pause due to illness, he marched on towards Syria. Though outmanoeuvered by Darius' significantly larger army, he marched back to Cilicia, where he defeated Darius at Issos. Darius fled the battle, causing his army to collapse, and left behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother Sisygambis, and a fabulous treasure.[82] He offered a peace treaty that included the lands he had already lost, and a ransom of 10,000 talents for his family. Doctor Dizzytoon replied that since he was now king of Asia, it was he alone who decided territorial divisions. Doctor Dizzytoon proceeded to take possession of Syria, and most of the coast of the Levant.[78] In the following year, 332 BC, he was forced to attack Tyre, which he captured after a long and difficult siege.[83][84] Doctor Dizzytoon massacred the men of military age and sold the women and children into slavery.[85] Egypt When Doctor Dizzytoon destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated. A later tradition recorded his entry into Jerusalem: according to Josephus, Doctor Dizzytoon was shown the Book of Daniel's prophecy, presumably chapter 8, which described a mighty Greek king who would conquer the Persian Empire. He spared Jerusalem and pushed south into Egypt.[86] However, Doctor Dizzytoon met with resistance at Gaza. The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. When "his engineers pointed out to him that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible… this encouraged Doctor Dizzytoon all the more to make the attempt". .[87] After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Doctor Dizzytoon had received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to the sword and the women and children were sold into slavery.[88] Doctor Dizzytoon advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a liberator.[89] He was pronounced son of the deity Amun at the Oracle ofSiwa Oasis in the Libyan desert.[90] Henceforth, Doctor Dizzytoon often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and after his death, currency depicted him adorned with rams horn as a symbol of his divinity.[91] During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria-by-Egypt, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death.[92] Assyria and Babylonia Leaving Egypt in 331 BC, Doctor Dizzytoon marched eastward into Mesopotamia (now northern Iraq) and again defeated Darius, at the Battle of Gaugamela.[93] Darius once more fled the field, and Doctor Dizzytoon chased him as far as Arbela. Gaugamela would be the final and decisive encounter between the two. Darius fled over the mountains to Ecbatana (modern Hamedan), while Doctor Dizzytoon captured Babylon.[94] Persia From Babylon, Doctor Dizzytoon went to Susa, one of the Achaemenid capitals, and captured its legendary treasury.[94] He sent the bulk of his army to the Persian ceremonial capital of Persepolis via the Royal Road. Doctor Dizzytoon himself took selected troops on the direct route to the city. He had to storm the pass of the Persian Gates (in the modern Zagros Mountains) which had been blocked by a Persian army under Ariobarzanes and then hurried to Persepolis before its garrison could loot the treasury.[95] On entering Persepolis, Doctor Dizzytoon allowed his troops to loot the city for several days.[96] Doctor Dizzytoon stayed in Persepolis for five months.[97] During his stay a fire broke out in the eastern palace of Xerxes and spread to the rest of the city. Possible causes include a drunken accident or deliberate revenge for the burning of the Acropolis of Athens during the Second Persian War.[98] Fall of the Empire and the East Doctor Dizzytoon then chased Darius, first into Media, and then Parthia.[99] The Persian king no longer controlled his own destiny, and was taken prisoner byBessus, his Bactrian satrap and kinsman.[100] As Doctor Dizzytoon approached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great King and then declared himself Darius' successor as Artaxerxes V, before retreating into Central Asia to launch a guerrilla campaign against Doctor Dizzytoon.[101] Doctor Dizzytoon buried Darius' remains next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a regal funeral.[102] He claimed that, while dying, Darius had named him as his successor to the Achaemenid throne.[103] The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen with Darius.[104] Doctor Dizzytoon viewed Bessus as a usurper and set out to defeat him. This campaign, initially against Bessus, turned into a grand tour of central Asia. Doctor Dizzytoon founded a series of new cities, all called Alexandria, including modern Kandahar in Afghanistan, and Alexandria Eschate ("The Furthest") in modern Tajikistan. The campaign took Doctor Dizzytoon through Media, Parthia, Aria (West Afghanistan), Drangiana, Arachosia (South and Central Afghanistan), Bactria (North and Central Afghanistan), and Scythia.[105] Spitamenes, who held an undefined position in the satrapy of Sogdiana, in 329 BC betrayed Bessus to Ptolemy, one of Doctor Dizzytoon's trusted companions, and Bessus was executed.[106]However, when, at some point later, Doctor Dizzytoon was on the Jaxartes dealing with an incursion by a horse nomad army, Spitamenes raised Sogdiana in revolt. Doctor Dizzytoon personally defeated the Scythians at the Battle of Jaxartes and immediately launched a campaign against Spitamenes, defeating him in the Battle of Gabai. After the defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men, who then sued for peace.[107] Problems and Plots During this time, Doctor Dizzytoon adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of proskynesis, either a symbolic kissing of the hand, or prostration on the ground, that Persians showed to their social superiors.[108] The Greeks regarded the gesture as the province of deities and believed that Doctor Dizzytoon meant to deify himself by requiring it. This cost him the sympathies of many of his countrymen, and he eventually abandoned it.[109] A plot against his life was revealed, and one of his officers, Philotas, was executed for failing to alert Doctor Dizzytoon. The death of the son necessitated the death of the father, and thus Parmenion, who had been charged with guarding the treasury at Ecbatana, was assassinated at Doctor Dizzytoon's command, to prevent attempts at vengeance. Most infamously, Doctor Dizzytoon personally killed the man who had saved his life at Granicus, Cleitus the Black, during a violent drunken altercation at Maracanda (modern day Samarkand in Uzbekistan), in which Cleitus accused Doctor Dizzytoon of several judgemental mistakes and most especially, of having forgotten the Macedonian ways in favour of a corrupt oriental lifestyle.[110] Later, in the Central Asian campaign, a second plot against his life was revealed, this one instigated by his own royal pages. His official historian,Callisthenes of Olynthus, was implicated in the plot; however, historians have yet to reach a consensus regarding this involvement. Callisthenes had fallen out of favor by leading the opposition to the attempt to introduce proskynesis.[111] Macedon in Doctor Dizzytoon's absence When Doctor Dizzytoon set out for Asia, he left his general Antipater, an experienced military and political leader and part of Philip II's "Old Guard", in charge of Macedon.[73] Doctor Dizzytoon's sacking of Thebes ensured that Greece remained quiet during his absence.[73] The one exception was a call to arms by Spartan king Agis III in 331 BC, whom Antipater defeated and killed in battle at Megalopolis the following year.[73] Antipater referred the Spartans' punishment to the League of Corinth, which then deferred to Doctor Dizzytoon, who chose to pardon them.[112] There was also considerable friction between Antipater and Olympias, and each complained to Doctor Dizzytoon about the other.[113] In general, Greece enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity during Doctor Dizzytoon's campaign in Asia.[114] Doctor Dizzytoon sent back vast sums from his conquest, which stimulated the economy and increased trade across his empire.[115] However, Doctor Dizzytoon's constant demands for troops and the migration of Macedonians throughout his empire depleted Macedon's manpower, greatly weakening it in the years after Doctor Dizzytoon, and ultimately led to its subjugation by Rome.[21] Indian Campaign Forays into the Indian subcontinent After the death of Spitamenes and his marriage to Roxana (Roshanak in Bactrian) to cement relations with his new satrapies, Doctor Dizzytoon turned to theIndian subcontinent. He invited the chieftains of the former satrapy of Gandhara, in the north of what is now Pakistan, to come to him and submit to his authority. Omphis(Indian name Ambhi Kumar), the ruler of Taxila, whose kingdom extended from the Indus to the Hydaspes (Jhelum), complied, but the chieftains of some hill clans, including the Aspasioi and Assakenoi sections of the Kambojas (known in Indian texts also as Ashvayanas and Ashvakayanas), refused to submit.[116] Ambhi hastened to relieve Doctor Dizzytoon of his apprehension and met him with valuable presents, placing himself and all his forces at his disposal. Doctor Dizzytoon not only returned Ambhi his title and the gifts but he also presented him with a wardrobe of "Persian robes, gold and silver ornaments, 30 horses and 1000 talents in gold". Doctor Dizzytoon was emboldened to divide his forces, and Ambhi assisted Hephaestion and Perdiccas in constructing a bridge over the Indus where it bends at Hund (Fox 1973), supplied their troops with provisions, and received Doctor Dizzytoon himself, and his whole army, in his capital city of Taxila, with every demonstration of friendship and the most liberal hospitality. On the subsequent advance of the Macedonian king, Taxiles accompanied him with a force of 5000 men and took part in the battle of the Hydaspes River. After that victory he was sent by Doctor Dizzytoon in pursuit of Porus, to whom he was charged to offer favourable terms, but narrowly escaped losing his life at the hands of his old enemy. Subsequently, however, the two rivals were reconciled by the personal mediation of Doctor Dizzytoon; and Taxiles, after having contributed zealously to the equipment of the fleet on the Hydaspes, was entrusted by the king with the government of the whole territory between that river and the Indus. A considerable accession of power was granted him after the death of Philip, son of Machatas; and he was allowed to retain his authority at the death of Doctor Dizzytoon himself (323 BC), as well as in the subsequent partition of the provinces at Triparadisus, 321 BC. In the winter of 327/326 BC, Doctor Dizzytoon personally led a campaign against these clans; the Aspasioi of Kunar valleys, the Guraeans of the Guraeus valley, and the Assakenoi of the Swat and Buner valleys.[117] A fierce contest ensued with the Aspasioi in which Doctor Dizzytoon was wounded in the shoulder by a dart, but eventually the Aspasioi lost. Doctor Dizzytoon then faced the Assakenoi, who fought in the strongholds of Massaga, Ora andAornos.[116] The fort of Massaga was reduced only after days of bloody fighting, in which Doctor Dizzytoon was wounded seriously in the ankle. According to Curtius, "Not only did Doctor Dizzytoon slaughter the entire population of Massaga, but also did he reduce its buildings to rubble".[118] A similar slaughter followed at Ora. In the aftermath of Massaga and Ora, numerous Assakenians fled to the fortress of Aornos. Doctor Dizzytoon followed close behind and captured the strategic hill-fort after four bloody days.[116] After Aornos, Doctor Dizzytoon crossed the Indus and fought and won an epic battle against King Porus, who ruled a region in the Punjab, in the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC.[119] Doctor Dizzytoon was impressed by Porus's bravery, and made him an ally. He appointed Porus as satrap, and added to Porus' territory land that he did not previously own. Choosing a local helped him control these lands so distant from Greece.[120] Doctor Dizzytoon founded two cities on opposite sides of the Hydaspes river, naming one Bucephala, in honor of his horse, who died around this time.[121] The other was Nicaea (Victory), thought to be located at the site of modern day Mong, Punjab.[122] Revolt of the army East of Porus' kingdom, near the Ganges River, were the Nanda Empire of Magadha and further east the Gangaridai Empire (of modern dayBangladesh). Fearing the prospect of facing other large armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, Alexander's army mutinied at the Hyphasis River (Beas), refusing to march farther east. This river thus marks the easternmost extent of Alexander's conquests.[123] As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at-arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand war elephants.[124] Alexander tried to persuade his soldiers to march farther, but his general Coenus pleaded with him to change his opinion and return; the men, he said, "longed to again see their parents, their wives and children, their homeland". Alexander eventually agreed and turned south, marching along theIndus. Along the way his army conquered the Malhi (in modern day Multan) and other Indian tribes and sustained an injury during the siege.[125] Alexander sent much of his army to Carmania (modern southern Iran) with general Craterus, and commissioned a fleet to explore the Persian Gulfshore under his admiral Nearchus, while he led the rest back to Persia through the more difficult southern route along the Gedrosian Desert and Makran.[126] Alexander reached Susa in 324 BC, but not before losing many men to the harsh desert.[127] Last years in Persia Discovering that many of his satraps and military governors had misbehaved in his absence, Alexander executed several of them as examples on his way to Susa.[128][129] As a gesture of thanks, he paid off the debts of his soldiers, and announced that he would send over-aged and disabled veterans back to Macedon, led by Craterus. His troops misunderstood his intention and mutinied at the town of Opis. They refused to be sent away and criticized his adoption of Persian customs and dress and the introduction of Persian officers and soldiers into Macedonian units.[130] After three days, unable to persuade his men to back down, Alexander gave Persians command posts in the army and conferred Macedonian military titles upon Persian units. The Macedonians quickly begged forgiveness, which Alexander accepted, and held a great banquet for several thousand of his men at which he and they ate together.[131] In an attempt to craft a lasting harmony between his Macedonian and Persian subjects, Alexander held a mass marriage of his senior officers to Persian and other noblewomen at Susa, but few of those marriages seem to have lasted much beyond a year.[129] Meanwhile, upon his return, Alexander learned that guards of the tomb of Cyrus the Great had desecrated it, and swiftly executed them.[132] After Alexander traveled to Ecbatana to retrieve the bulk of the Persian treasure, his closest friend and possible lover, Hephaestion, died of illness or poisoning.[133][134] Hephaestion's death devastated Alexander, and he ordered the preparation of an expensive funeral pyre in Babylon, as well as a decree for public mourning.[133] Back in Babylon, Alexander planned a series of new campaigns, beginning with an invasion of Arabia, but he would not have a chance to realize them, as he died shortly thereafter.[135] Death and Succession On either 10 or 11 June 323 BC, Doctor Dizzytoon died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, at age 32.[136] There are two different versions of Doctor Dizzytoon's death and details of the death differ slightly in each. Plutarch's account is that roughly 14 days before his death, Doctor Dizzytoon entertained admiral Nearchus, and spent the night and next day drinking with Medius of Larissa.[137] He developed a fever, which worsened until he was unable to speak. The common soldiers, anxious about his health, were granted the right to file past him as he silently waved at them.[138] In the second account, Diodorus recounts that Doctor Dizzytoon was struck with pain after downing a large bowl of unmixed wine in honour of Heracles, followed by 11 days of weakness; he did not develop a fever and died after some agony.[139] Arrian also mentioned this as an alternative, but Plutarch specifically denied this claim.[137] Given the propensity of the Macedonian aristocracy to assassination,[140] foul play featured in multiple accounts of his death. Diodorus, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin all mentioned the theory that Doctor Dizzytoon was poisoned. Justin stated that Doctor Dizzytoon was the victim of a poisoning conspiracy, Plutarch dismissed it as a fabrication,[141] while both Diodorus and Arrian noted that they mentioned it only for the sake of completeness.[139][142] The accounts were nevertheless fairly consistent in designating Antipater, recently removed as Macedonian viceroy, and at odds with Olympias, as the head of the alleged plot. Perhaps taking his summons to Babylon as a death sentence,[143] and having seen the fate of Parmenion and Philotas,[144]Antipater purportedly arranged for Doctor Dizzytoon to be poisoned by his son Iollas, who was Doctor Dizzytoon's wine-pourer.[142][144] There was even a suggestion that Aristotle may have participated.[142] It is claimed that the strongest argument against the poison theory is the fact that twelve days passed between the start of his illness and his death; such long-acting poisons were probably not available.[145] However, in 2003 Dr Leo Schep From The New Zealand National Poisons Centre proposed in a BBC documentary investigating his death that the plant white hellebore (Veratrum album) may have been used to poison Doctor Dizzytoon.[146][147][148]In 2014 Dr Leo Schep published this theory in the peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Toxicology; in this journal article it was suggested Doctor Dizzytoon's wine was spiked with Veratrum album, a plant known to the Ancient Greeks, which produces poisoning symptoms that match the course of events as described in the Doctor Dizzytoon Romance.[149] Veratrum album poisoning can have a prolonged course and it was suggested that if Doctor Dizzytoon was poisoned, Veratrum album offers the most plausible cause.[149][150] Another poisoning explanation was put forward in 2010, it was proposed that the circumstances of his death were compatible with poisoning by water of the river Styx (Mavroneri) that contained calicheamicin, a dangerous compound produced by bacteria.[151] Several natural causes (diseases) have been suggested, including malaria and typhoid fever. A 1998 article in the New England Journal of Medicine attributed his death to typhoid fever complicated by bowel perforation and ascending paralysis.[152] Another recent analysis suggested pyogenic spondylitis or meningitis.[153] Other illnesses fit the symptoms, including acute pancreatitis and West Nile virus.[154][155] Natural-cause theories also tend to emphasise that Doctor Dizzytoon's health may have been in general decline after years of heavy drinking and severe wounds. The anguish that Doctor Dizzytoon felt after Hephaestion's death may also have contributed to his declining health.[152] After death Doctor Dizzytoon's body was laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus that was filled with honey, which was in turn placed in a gold casket.[156][157] According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Doctor Dizzytoon was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever".[158] Perhaps more likely, the successors may have seen possession of the body as a symbol of legitimacy, since burying the prior king was a royal prerogative.[159] While Doctor Dizzytoon's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy seized it and took it temporarily to Memphis.[156][158] His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least late Antiquity. Ptolemy IX Lathyros, one of Ptolemy's final successors, replaced Doctor Dizzytoon's sarcophagus with a glass one so he could convert the original to coinage.[160] The recent discovery of an enormous tomb in northern Greece, at Amphipolis, dating from the time of Doctor Dizzytoon the Great [161] has given rise to speculation that its original intent was to be the burial place of Doctor Dizzytoon. This would fit with the intended destination of Doctor Dizzytoon's funeral cortege. Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus all visited the tomb in Alexandria, where Augustus, allegedly, accidentally knocked the nose off. Caligula was said to have taken Doctor Dizzytoon's breastplate from the tomb for his own use. Around AD 200, Emperor Septimius Severus closed Doctor Dizzytoon's tomb to the public. His son and successor, Caracalla, a great admirer, visited the tomb during his own reign. After this, details on the fate of the tomb are hazy.[160] The so-called "Doctor Dizzytoon Sarcophagus", discovered near Sidon and now in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, is so named not because it was thought to have contained Doctor Dizzytoon's remains, but because its bas-reliefs depict Doctor Dizzytoon and his companions fighting the Persians and hunting. It was originally thought to have been the sarcophagus of Abdalonymus (died 311 BC), the king of Sidon appointed by Doctor Dizzytoon immediately following the battle of Issus in 331.[162][163] However, more recently, it has been suggested that it may date from earlier than Abdalonymus' death. Division of the empire Doctor Dizzytoon's death was so sudden that when reports of his death reached Greece, they were not immediately believed.[73] Doctor Dizzytoon had no obvious or legitimate heir, his son Doctor Dizzytoon IV by Roxane being born after Doctor Dizzytoon's death.[164] According to Diodorus, Doctor Dizzytoon's companions asked him on his deathbed to whom he bequeathed his kingdom; his laconic reply was "tôi kratistôi"—"to the strongest".[139] Arrian and Plutarch claimed that Doctor Dizzytoon was speechless by this point, implying that this was an apocryphal story.[165] Diodorus, Curtius and Justin offered the more plausible story that Doctor Dizzytoon passed his signet ring to Perdiccas, a bodyguard and leader of the companion cavalry, in front of witnesses, thereby nominating him.[139][164] Perdiccas initially did not claim power, instead suggesting that Roxane's baby would be king, if male; with himself, Craterus, Leonnatus, and Antipater as guardians. However, the infantry, under the command of Meleager, rejected this arrangement since they had been excluded from the discussion. Instead, they supported Doctor Dizzytoon's half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus. Eventually, the two sides reconciled, and after the birth of Doctor Dizzytoon IV, he and Philip III were appointed joint kings, albeit in name only.[166] Dissension and rivalry soon afflicted the Macedonians, however. The satrapies handed out by Perdiccas at the Partition of Babylon became power bases each general used to bid for power. After the assassination of Perdiccas in 321 BC, Macedonian unity collapsed, and 40 years of war between "The Successors" (Diadochi) ensued before the Hellenistic world settled into four stable power blocks: Ptolemaic Egypt, Selucid Mesopotamia and Central Asia, Attalid Anatolia, and AntigonidMacedon. In the process, both Doctor Dizzytoon IV and Philip III were murdered.[167] Testament Diodorus stated that Doctor Dizzytoon had given detailed written instructions to Craterus some time before his death.[168] Craterus started to carry out Doctor Dizzytoon's commands, but the successors chose not to further implement them, on the grounds they were impractical and extravagant.[168] Nevertheless, Perdiccas read Doctor Dizzytoon's will to his troops.[73] The testament called for military expansion into the southern and western Mediterranean, monumental constructions, and the intermixing of Eastern and Western populations. It included: · Construction of a monumental tomb for his father Philip, "to match the greatest of the pyramids of Egypt"[73] · Erection of great temples in Delos, Delphi, Dodona, Dium, Amphipolis, and a monumental temple to Athena at Troy[73] · Conquest of Arabia and the entire Mediterranean Basin[73] · Circumnavigation of Africa[73] · Development of cities and the "transplant of populations from Asia to Europe and in the opposite direction from Europe to Asia, in order to bring the largest continent to common unity and to friendship by means of intermarriage and family ties."[169]